Miami Beach Visitors Guide

Miami Beach, South Beach, Coconut Grove, Downtown

Palm trees, wide sandy beach and blue ocean waters — Miami Beach’s picture-postcard winter playground has blossomed into a sophisticated, diverse community that warmly welcomes Greater Miami and the Beaches’ visitors at any time of year.

Miami Beach’s lush, tropical environment evokes one great movie set, a fantasy world peopled with models and celebrities. But on this stage everyone can enjoy the same alluring lifestyle, relaxing poolside or beachside, lunching at umbrella-shaded tables, even zipping along Ocean Drive on ‘blades. At night the non-stop action moves to sizzling clubs, bars and restaurants.

South Beach’s broad, immaculate strand ranks as one of the Travel Channels’ top ten beaches in the world. The Surfrider Foundation voted it the premier urban beach in the U.S.But there’s more than fine white sand to this fantasy land of exuberant architecture, pulsating night life and spectacular shoreline in a scene as cool as the sun is hot. Occupying less than two square miles on the southern tip of Miami Beach, South Beach’s subtropical sandbar has an identity of its own.South Beach has been called the American Riviera and an Art Deco Playground. The area has taken on new life as a big, ultra-chic, 24/7 street party.With its beautiful beach and whimsical architecture, the area has also become a favored location for films, music and television shows and a backdrop for fashion shoots. The renaissance of South Beach was a factor in Greater Miami and Beaches’ growth as a nationally recognized center for film, television and print production and Latin music.

The Art Deco Historic District, with the largest concentration of 1920's and 1930s architecture in the world, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and recognized globally as one of Greater Miami and the Beaches’ unique attractions.

Miami Beach offers more than fantasy Art Deco buildings, it is blessed with diverse cultural in stitutions. The new Cultural Campus houses the Bass Museum of Art with a permanent collection of important European art, the public library and the Miami City Ballet headquarters. On Washington Avenue, the Spanish Baroque facade of The Wolfsonian/FIU is as distinctive as the eclectic collection of more than 70,000 objects inside. The Sanford L. Ziff Jewish Museum of Florida is housed in a beautifully restored Art Deco synagogue and the Holocaust Memorial is built around a stark sculptured hand pointing skyward. Public beaches define the 10-mile strand along the Atlantic Ocean, enlivened by colorful, funky lifeguard stands. A raised boardwalk along the beach invites strolling. Collins Avenue, Miami Beach’s main artery, carves out a scenic route parallel to the beach.

For a different view of Miami Beach take a boat tour around the private Biscayne Bay islands – Star, Palm and Hibiscus – where celebrities reside on elaborate estates. Or, get close-up to Art Deco architectural gems on a walking, biking or in-line skating tour offered by the Miami Design Preservation League.

Boutiques and specialty shops put a designer spin on shopping in Miami Beach. On Collins Avenue, Washington Avenue and Ocean Drive, the names on the shopping bags reflect the range of designers — Benetton, Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic, Versace, Kenneth Cole and Hugo Boss among them — selling clothes on the cutting edge of cool.

Lincoln Road Shopping District, once known as “the Fifth Avenue of the South,” is now a pedestrian-only oasis of tropical vegetation, Art Deco structures and street theater. High-style stores, art galleries and restaurants attract visitors until late at night. Here you will find avant-garde design in lamps and home furnishings, books, original gift items and the latest hip gear. An Outdoor Antique and Collectibles Market complements a smaller flea market among the funky stores on Spanish-inspired Española Way.

Miami Beach’s trendy charms revolve around its sizzling clubs and night spots and the plethora of dining and entertainment options for every taste from Asian, Cuban and Floribbean to no-nonsense fare. Outdoor eating is appealing all over, where watching-the-world-go-by is as fascinating as the cuisine. And in Miami Beach’s famed restaurants, celebrity chefs work their magic for the most discerning palate.The cultural scene thrives too on music of every genre; modern and experimental dance programs, film festivals and art shows. Broadway regularly comes to Miami Beach with performances of top hit shows. Both on and off the stage, Miami Beach plays a starring role as the place where you are most likely to have fun!

“The Grove” has been dubbed “the village with a rhythm all its own.” A rhythm that is played out in tree-lined streets, scores of shops, restaurants and night-spots and a throbbing, upbeat street life that vibrates with a character all its own.

Coconut Grove may have changed since its days as a bohemian village populated by artists and radicals, but its zany charm and energy are as potent as ever. Located on Biscayne Bay just ten minutes south of Downtown Miami, The Grove is unlike any other neighborhood in Greater Miami and the Beaches.

Coconut Grove’s waterfront parks offer the best vantage points for observing manatees, wildlife and thsailboats in Biscayne Bay. Dinner Key, originally the base for Pan American World Airways’ seaplane flights from Greater Miami in the 1930s, now houses Miami City Hall — which was converted from the original hangar. Earlier Grove history is evident at The Barnacle, the 110-year old home of pioneer Commodore Ralph Munroe.

The grandest home of all is Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, the Italian Renaissance-style villa built by millionaire James Deering in 1916. Set on 10 acres of formal gardens and fountains with Biscayne Bay as backdrop, the 70-room estate is filled with fabulous furnishings and antiques. Vizcaya was purchased by Miami-Dade County in 1952 and opened to the public as museum. Nearby, the Miami Museum of Science & Space Transit Planetarium features hands-on exhibits on everything from robotic dinosaurs to virtual reality basketball, as well as star and space shows.

Festivals and street fairs such as the extraordinary Coconut Grove Arts Festival; the Coconut Grove Food and Music Festival (formerly Taste of the Grove); the Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival and the Banyan Arts Festival, add to Coconut Grove’s excitement.

MIAMI'S DOWNTOWN

Miami's city center pulsates with activity as commercial, cultural and leisure pursuits come together in dynamic diversity...Low buildings, shopping arcades and storefronts tightly packed with merchandise evoke Miami’s origins as a trading town. On West Flagler Street the original 1920s Olympia Theater has become the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, a worthy venue for concerts and performances. A few blocks away, a broad Mediterranean piazza is at the heart of the Miami-Dade Cultural Center, cornered by the graceful arches, barrel tile roofs and cream-colored stucco of the main public library. Also on the piazza, the Miami Art Museum showcases changing exhibits of international art, while the Historical Museum of Southern Florida interweaves the tapestry of local and regional history through permanent and special exhibits. On Biscayne Boulevard, the Freedom Tower, built in1925 as Miami’s first skyscraper, recorded city events when it housed the offices of the Miami Daily News and then played a starring part as the gateway to freedom for thousands of Cuban refugees. Across the Boulevard, the white sculpted curves of the

American Airlines Arena mark the home of the NBA’s Miami Heat. Football is celebrated in the Orange Bowl, home of the University of Miami Hurricanes team.

SHOPPING

Downtown Miami offers big city shopping with a cosmopolitan flair. Department stores and emporiums selling clothes, electronics, sporting goods and more fill the Historic Downtown Miami Shopping District from SE 1st Street to NE 3rd Street. The sounds of Spanish and Portuguese are heard and the aroma of Cuban coffee wafts through the air. Downtown is also the place for jewelry, with dazzling displays in the stores and workshops that make up one of the largest jewelry districts in the U.S.

On Biscayne Boulevard, Bayside Marketplace next to Bayfront Park, borrows from the past as it looks to the future. The open-air shopping and entertainment complex built on the site of Pier 5 fishing pier, one of Miami’s most popular tourist spots in the 1950s, is now a waterfront destination for gift shopping, dining and enjoying outdoor performances. Here you can browse through shops and pushcarts selling everything from T-shirts to one-of-a-kind souvenirs.

Just a few minutes north of downtown, the city’s historic Buena Vista Village, is the charming setting for The Miami Design District, overflowing with exciting interior design showrooms and stores; art studios and galleries; movie production and theatrical costume companies and more. Here you find interesting furniture, carpets, lighting, fabrics and cutting-edge design accessories, presented in a stylish environment. Don't miss a unique opportunity to explore the area's vast galleries during Gallery Night at the Miami Design District, taking place the second Friday of each month.